Treasury to sell 30 million shares of GM stock

ASSOCIATED PRESS

June 5, 2013

Photo: David Goldman, STF

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013 file photo, the logo for General Motors decorates the entrance to a former UPS facility as GM announced plans to open an information technology center in the building that would create about 1,000 jobs, in Roswell, Ga. The U.S. government is taking advantage of the recent run-up in General Motors stock to sell off another 30 million shares in the auto giant that it acquired in a bailout, according to the Treasury Department, Wednesday, June 5, 2013. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 10, 2013 file photo, the logo for...

DETROIT - The U.S. government plans to sell another 30 million shares of General Motors stock in a public offering on Thursday as it speeds up efforts to divest itself from a stake that it got in a bailout four years ago.

The Treasury Department will set the price for the shares after the markets close Thursday, with the sale taking place shortly thereafter. A United Auto Workers retiree health care trust fund will join the sale and sell 20 million shares.

General Motors Co. stock fell 2.6 percent to $34.02 Wednesday, but it has seen huge growth recently. The stock hit $35.49 on Tuesday, the highest point since December 2010, according to FactSet. Shares are up about 19 percent since the beginning of the year.

The public offering will help accelerate the government's exit from owning GM stock, which it got in exchange for a $49.5 billion bailout in 2008 and 2009.

Translator

To read this article in one of Houston's most-spoken languages, click on the button below.

GM has longed for the government to exit partial ownership of the company, hoping to shed the derisive nickname "Government Motors," as well as attract customers who have shunned GM cars because it took government money. GM nearly ran out of cash late in 2008 and needed the government cash to make it through bankruptcy protection. While under government ownership, the company also falls under executive pay caps that it says hinder recruiting of top talent.

After Thursday's sale, the government would still own around 211 million shares, although it likely sold additional shares on the open market in May that haven't been disclosed yet. The Treasury Department said it still plans to sell its entire stake in GM by early next year.

The company's stock has been gradually rising since early May, when it reported solid first-quarter earnings.